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Crash victims' families push for new airline rules

Relatives of the victims of a New York commuter air crash are in Minnesota lobbying for new regulations for the nation's smaller airlines.

Fifty people died in the 2009 Colgan Air crash in upper New York. Their survivors are comparing that to a 1993 Northwest Airlink crash in Hibbing that killed 18. Karen Eckert of Williamsville, New York, lost her daughter in the New York crash and said the New York commuter pilot was under-trained, underpaid and poorly rested.

"We're not making noise," she said. "We're trying to get change. We want to know what happened, why, and we are here to ensure that this doesn't happen again."

John Kausner of Clarence Center, New York, lost his daughter Elly in the New York crash. He said both crashes had under-trained pilots, without adequate rest.

"They should have been responsible to train the people that are flying us - all of you and all of us - around this country," he said.

The group is pushing a compromise between U.S. Senate and House versions of a bill with key changes to the rules governing commuter airlines. They fear Congress could adjourn before changes are adopted.